Attachment for handcuffs.



PATEN ED MAY 5, 190a.v

PBTTIJOHN. ATTACHMENT FOR. HA'NDGUFFS.

APPLICATION FILED JAIL 31. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATE Patented May 5,. 1903.

JOHN W. PETTIJOHN, OF MONTESANO, WASHINGTON.

ATTACHMENT FOR HANDCUFFS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,193, dated May 5, 1903. Application filed January 31, 1903. I Serial No. 141,308. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN W. PETTIJOHN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montesano, in the county of Chehalis and State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Attachment for Handcuffs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to attachments for handcuffs; and it consists in the construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawing. 7

It is well known by all officers accustomed to deal with criminals that a prisoner with his hands secured in handcuffs of theordi ary type is not rendered powerless to do injury to the officer or to effect an escape if not closely watched. which desperate men have taken advantage of the inattention of a guard to seize Weapons by means of which they were enabled to inflict serious if not fatal injury upon the guard and after rendering the guard incapable of preventing it have been able to effect an escape.

The object of my invention is to provide a light and simple attachment for handcuffs, which may be put in position upon the hand of the criminal at the time the handcuff is applied and which will keep the fingers and thumb of the wearer so distended that it will i be impossible for him to close the hand sufficiently to grasp any weapon or to clench the hand sufficiently to strike a forcible blow. This object is attained by means of the construction illustrated in the drawing, in which are shown in full lines a pair of my attachments for handcuffs as they appear in position on the hands of a criminal, the hands and handcuffs being shown in dotted lines.

Corresponding parts are indicated by similar characters of reference in the figure.

' The attachment consists, essentially, of a stem 1, provided atits-forward end with a,

loop 2, adapted to receive-the fingersof the wearers hand. This loop is oblong-in shape and is bent at'3 3, so that th'esi'de opposite the stem may lie in front of the fingers of the wearer when the stem 1 is in contact with the back of the hand, as shown. Arranged at at one side of the stem 1 is a loop 4, so shaped and situated that when the fingers have-been passed through the loop 2 the thumb will Many instances are knownin employ wire of suitable strength, which may be bent-into the form indicated in the drawing and then secured by brazing wherever necessary. It is to be understood, however,

that the attachment may be cast in a suitable 'mold and afterward machined to a proper finish, or it may be cut out by dies from sheet metal; bent into proper form, andthe parts thereof secured by brazing, riveting, or by any other well-known and suitable method.

The attachments must. of coursebe made in pairs to fit'thetw'o hands, as'sliown in the drawing, and itis also desired to make them in difierent sizes to correspond to differentlysized hands. It is not necessary that a great number of different sizes be provided, but at least three different sizes will be found con-' venient.

The utility of my invention will be readily recognized without further explanation, but some of its special advantages may be pointed out here.

Mention has already been made of the ability of prisoners with their hands secured in ordinary handcuffs sometimes to suddenly overcome a guard when taken unawares and to efiect an escape, and the effectiveness of my attachment for handcufis in preventing such occurences has already been pointed out; but afurther advantage is found in the fact that if a prisoner having his hands se cured in handcuffs provided with my attachments should escape from his custodian through any combination of circumstances he would be unable to complete hisescape unaided, for the reasonthat the hands are held in such positions that it wouldb'e-inlpossible for him to secure and use any weapons, even though they might be. within his reach, and he would also be powerless to feed himself. Consequently if a prisoner with his hands locked in handcuffs provided with my attachment should escape he would be forced by starvation to surrender himself.

It will be understood from an inspection of the drawings that when the attachments are in position on the hands of a criminal his thumbs Will be held substantially at right angles to the hand and that while the thumbs are in this position it will be impossible for him to slip ofi the handcuffs over his hands.

From the foregoing statements it will be clear that by using my attachments in conjunction with handculfs officers of the law or others intrusted with the care and custody of criminals Will be relieved in great measure of the danger of injury from the criminals and the escape of the criminals unaided by others will be absolutely prevented.

Having now described the construction and uses of my improved attachment for handcufis, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an attachment for handcuffs, the combination of a supporting portion, a loop for the fingers associated with said supporting portion, a loop for the thumb also associated with said supporting portion, and means for attachment to a handcutf, substantially as described.

2. The combination in an attachment for handcuffs, of a supporting portion adapted to rest upon the back of the hand, a loop for the fingers associated with said supporting portion, and means for attachment to a handcuff, substantially as described.

3. The combination in an attachment for handcuffs, of a stem adapted to rest upon the back of the hand, loops integral with said stem adapted to receive the fingers and thumb, and means carried by said stem for attachment to a handcuff, substantially as described.

a. The combination in an attachment for handcuffs, of a stem adapted to rest upon .the back of the hand, loops adapted to receive the fingers and thumb carried by said stem, and eyes provided at the rearward end of said stem for the attachment of a handcuit", substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myown I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. PETTIJOHN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES TAYLOR, ALVIN ALLEN. 

